Question

tornadoes at camp
the pa cracked through camp louella like sheet lightning. we had been looking forward to the trip all year. one week without our parents, without homework and history class and sniveling first-graders in the halls. it was the culmination of our time in elementary school, one last hurrah before we moved on to middle school. we had been at the camp for less than a day, and already we regretted it.
camp louella sits on the border between texas and oklahoma—three hours on the bus and another hour learning camp procedures made for an exhausting day. dinner was served at 6:30 every evening. it was 5:15, and already the boys were starving. we huddled in a shelter beneath the cabin and listened. the silence was electric.
“mr. chestnut, i really have to use the bathroom!” pleaded ben. the rest of us giggled.
“i can’t let you leave the shelter right now. there are tornadoes nearby,” he explained.
“but—”
how does dialogue contribute to the passage as a whole?
a dialogue is used to share information about the narrator and his mother.
b dialogue provides comic relief in an otherwise tense and ominous setting.
c dialogue interrupts the tension of the scene and makes readers feel safe.
d dialogue gives readers a clearer sense of the narrator and his speaking voice.

Explanation:

, relatable plea about needing the bathroom, followed by the group’s giggling, lightens the ominous mood—this is comic relief. Other options are incorrect: A (no info about narrator/mother), C (dialogue doesn’t make readers feel safe), D (dialogue shows Ben’s voice, not primarily the narrator’s).

Answer:

, relatable plea about needing the bathroom, followed by the group’s giggling, lightens the ominous mood—this is comic relief. Other options are incorrect: A (no info about narrator/mother), C (dialogue doesn’t make readers feel safe), D (dialogue shows Ben’s voice, not primarily the narrator’s).